Editor's Note: This piece was written by boy's soccer head coach Mike Curci.
With just four starters returning to the lineup, the Cranford boys' varsity soccer team has begun its quest to find the players who will step-up to defend their 2009 County title.
The Cougars opened their pre-season scrimmage schedule with a 2-1 victory over visiting New Brunswick at Memorial Field with goals by sophomore Tommy Paparatto and senior Ray El-Khoury.
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Paparatto's goal came in the first half thanks to a beautiful diagonal ball served over the New Brunswick defense to a sprinting Paparatto -- who took the ball on one bounce and fired a low-shot into the far corner for the tally to make it 1-nil.
The Panthers tied the game in the second half before El-Khoury flicked in a header from right in front of the goal with three minutes remaining to seal the win.
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Cranford will visit Spotswood on Tuesday in pre-season action. Game time is set for 10 a.m.
Check out the video of Paparatto's goal here.
